Pretty in Pink

Posted bySarahPosted inArt, PhotographyTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

I´ve been busy photographing flowers this summer and now want to share some of them with you so you can have a look at them during the coming winter months whenever you feel like you need a reminder of the warmth and the beauty of nature, as I´m sure I will.

Apart from the first few pictures showing you Echinacea that I shot during a visit in a garden center, all of them grow on my window sills. (That is to say, actually now I do have my own Echinacea growing there as well, but it doesn’t look as impressive as the ones in the garden center and so I chose these photos. 😉 )

And as you will notice, I am very fond of observing and photographing all kinds of pollinating insects, mostly bees and bumble-bees who I just love as much as the flowers.

 

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Echinacea purpurae entertaining a hard-working visitor (Aug. 2017)

 

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Echinacea purpurae and guest (Aug. 2017)
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Echinacea, different in color but not less attractive to the bees (Aug. 2017)

 

And do you remember that funny little sketch of my cactus I did a few weeks ago? Here comes as promised one of its glorious flowers. They only last for a day or two but this makes them even more precious to me.

I just love how the light plays with the texture of the flower leaves, letting them appear like gently dusted with gold leave…

 

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Flower from my epiphyllum cactus (Aug. 2017)

 

And do you know the movie “Cactus Flower” with Ingrid Bergman and Walter Matthau? It´s one of my favorites! 🙂

 

This year I enjoyed very much my Phlox flowers that bloomed twice (phlox is an Ancient Greek word and means flame).

 

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Phlox paniculata (Aug. 2017)

 

And so did a very rare visitor as well…

 

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The Admiral came for lunch (Aug. 2017)

 

And this is one of my very favorite flowers because nothing like a hibiscus says it´s summer and I could well be on Hawaii 😉

They grow exceptionally well on my window sills and I make sure to picture each flower as a celebration of its beauty.

 

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Hibiscus flower (Aug. 2017)

 

I even use it for my smartphone screen background, like this:

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Detail hibiscus flower (Aug. 2017)

 

And I am not the only one who´s fond of them…

 

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Little grasshopper having a rest on my hibiscus leaves… (Aug. 2017)

 

There were quite a lot of grasshoppers around this summer and for some reason they really liked to hang around my kitchen ceiling… I suspect they had a nibble or two at my basil at night 😉 Now they´re gone, clear proof that summer is indeed leaving…

 

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Pink hibiscus flower (Aug. 2017)

 

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Some of my Echinacea that I had to cut off in order to encourage the growth of new blossoms – it worked 😉 (Aug. 2017)

 

 

Published by Sarah

Artist & Illustrator

66 thoughts on “Pretty in Pink”

  8. Sarah, what a lovely and generous thought to share these beautiful flowers with us…they’ve already brightened up a dark and chilly evening! At first I thought you’d photoshopped the cactus flower…the light and textures seem unreal. The photos are so vibrantly and crystal clear, as if they’re in 3-D…and wow, the bees are brilliantly captured – they seem so at peace with their task. A stunning post that’s lifted my spirits! 😀❤️

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    1. I´m so glad my pictures have brightened up your evening, Annika! 😀
      And I swear I haven´t photoshopped the cactus flower! It really looks like this when the sunlight is hitting it in the right angle and I could look at it for hours… well, or at least until the sun has moved so much forward on its way that the effect´s gone 😉
      Wish you a very lovely day! 🙂 ❤

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  10. Beautiful photographs, dear Sarah. Those grasshoppers still hop over here at our courtyard. Such funny little creatures 🙂
    Hope all is well with you. Sending you a big hug again, XxX

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    1. Thanks so much, Patty! They are fun to watch – and so difficult to catch! 😉 But I succeeded once and put him in the backyard to save my basil 😂
      Hope all is well with you too and that you can enjoy the last says of summer in your garden. Big hugs! xxx

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  11. What a pleasant visit to the garden center. Echinacea pictures are so beautiful. Yesterday I did the same thing – took some pictures of Echinacea 🙂 Isn’t this flower pretty. I love your Epiphyllum cactus flower a lot. My cactus is some 7 years old and never bothered to bloom. xxxxxx

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    1. I always enjoy visiting the garden center a lot, it’s so beautiful and quiet except for the humming insects 😄
      I hope you will share your pictures of the Echinacea?
      Does your cactus get enough daylight? Mine stands all year on a window sill facing south and blossoms once sometimes even twice a year. And it gets fertilized about twice a year, nothing fancy, just the normal stuff I use for all the other plants as well. I have read a lot about this special cactusses and know that they do survive being posted… I would love to send you a branch of mine, I’m sure it will blossom because I gave two of them away to friends who said so. 😄 xxxxxxx

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    1. Thanks so much, Kerry! Around here echinacea is also used a lot for fighting infections, but only in the form of drops or pills – didn´t help me much though, but it´s always lovely to watch the bees having fun! xoxo

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  14. Wonderful photos! And they do remind me of summer, especially the ones that include the bees. Summer just wouldn’t be summer without the insects (even those pesky mosquitoes). And nothing is better than listening to the crickets through an open window on a warm summer night. Thanks for posting these!!

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    1. Thanks so much, Su! Coming from such a gifted photographer like you it´s a compliment that makes me glow with pride 😀
      I could watch bees for hours I think, it´s so relaxing watching other doing the hard work! Haha! 😀
      Happy weekend to you to! 🙂 xxxxxx

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  16. Great capture of the bees at work. They are fun to watch. I had big fat bumble bees on my lavender this summer. Think I’ll grow more nest year just to watch them. I like the hibiscus as a screen saver. I’ve used one of my red roses for that. It’s like it bloomed just to give me a boost all year long. Soon everything will have to go into the green house for the winter. 😦 Autumn is coming or maybe even here. Your photos will be appreciated in the gloomy months ahead. 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Marlene! I can imagine that this particular bumble bee of yours had a lovely and very busy summer! 😀 I also plant poppies every year because I know they totally love the stuff and it´s so lovely to watch them having a frenzy at them! 😀
      Have a lovely weekend!

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  17. Gorgeous photos, Sarah. Looks like you have a tropical hibiscus. I had one years ago–peach colored–and not realizing it wouldn’t survive the winter here, planted it outside near my patio. It bloomed beautifully, but only for that season. I now have a regular hibiscus that comes back year after year, gifting me with huge red flowers.

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    1. Thank you so much, Divya! 😀 I had a lot of fun photographing those echinacea that day and trying to arrange them in the best possible way 😀 It´s more challenging than photographing animals!
      Good to see you again! Hope you´re well! Many hugs&kisses! 🙂 xoxo

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  25. Your photos are absolutely beautiful, and I’ll think you’ll guess my fav’, the Echinacea with the bee hovering !! and I’ll send you some music to suit your article today, Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”, a compilation by the BBC

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